Home Will Always Be There
by Alyssax23
Summary: After publishing his first book, Lucas thought everything would only get better, but he was wrong. Lost in his own defeat, an unexpected visitor shines some light on the situation. But does Lucas have it in himself to take that first step into the next chapter of life? A bromance Chrucas one-shot.


**Author's Note: This is my first One Tree Hill solo writing piece and it's basically a bromance one-shot focusing on the friendship of Chris and Lucas. I wouldn't have thought that to be my first one! I wrote it for two amazing friends Kasey and Shannon. No one writes Chris Keller better than Kasey and no one writes Lucas Scott better than Shannon. And when they're together they make the best Chrucas friendship. This obviously isn't nearly as good as your guys' Chrucas but I promised the two of you a Chrucas one-shot and I did it :) So enjoy you two *hearts***

Home Will Always Be There

Blue eyes stared deeply into the blank writing document staring right back at him. Letting out a defeated sigh, his fingers moved impatiently over the keyboard and threw random letters in. Lucas Scott had lived in Tree Hill for his whole 23 years of life and never once did he question his whereabouts. Tree Hill was always filled with such adventure and so many opportunities than any other small town would never be able to pull off.

_There's only one Tree Hill, and its home._

But sometimes home wasn't enough.

After writing one successful book that pretty much summed up everything in his life till that very moment he was living in, he was at a standstill. It was like everyone was moving on but him. Brooke was in New York, Peyton was in LA, his mom was all over the world with Lily and Andy, Nathan and Haley were only growing as a family. Don't get him wrong, he was so grateful that everyone was beginning to find their way; it's all he ever wanted. But now that the opportunity was here for him to do something for himself, he had no idea what to do.

On top of that, how was he going to pay the bills? As much as he'd like, he couldn't survive off of one published book.

With a loud yawn, the blonde stood up and stretched out his back. He gave his laptop one more defeated glance and shut it. "You win. I got nothing." The laptop just sat there and Lucas rolled his eyes, "That's right. Stay there."

**** Chrucas ****

A pair of tacky, retro sunglasses was slowly pulled off a face that Tree Hill hadn't seen in quite some time. Baby blues looked around curiously with expectation. "Well isn't anyone going to help Chris Keller carry his bags to the taxi?"

A few people that passed by looked over at him with a raised brow and he gave them expectant looks. "People are just so unappreciative of my guitar hands that need proper resting." The arrogant musician pulled out a twenty and handed it to the flight attendant that was on his plane, "Be a cutie pie and take my bags to the car. If you do it quickly enough, I'll take you to my hotel with me."

_Smack!_

Chris's hand went over his cheek and he watched dumbfounded as the woman walked away with her wheelie suitcase. "Chris Keller didn't want your help anyways!"

_But he definitely wanted your ass._

After self pitying himself for having to carry his own bags, Chris finally got into his taxi and explored the old town of Tree Hill. He soon realized that even tiny towns change over time.

**** Chrucas ****

Lucas sat down in a local café with a half filled cup of coffee sitting next to an empty notepad. He did this every day ever since his last book was published. It was supposed to be enough to inspire him and at a time it was enough. The café was nothing like his mom's old café when she still had it. Karen's Café was motherly and warm even to people that had no idea who Karen was. There hadn't been a place like it since.

The blonde began to doodle a random stick figure when a guitar strum quieted anyone speaking in the tiny café. "This is a song I wrote a few weeks ago. I haven't performed it yet. It's called Prince of Nothing Charming. So tell me what you guys think."

"Oh no," Lucas muttered as he watched on. The once was author decided to leave just as Chris finished his song. If he didn't look behind him, he'd go unnoticed and it would be okay. But as he exited the café, the cocky musician had his guitar packed up and he jogged out after Lucas.

"Well, well. Are you trying to run from The Keller?" Chris asked with a lazy smirk as he stopped walking just as Lucas did. "I recognize that ass anywhere. Not nearly as firm as mine."

Lucas turned around and scoffed, the man quickly realizing that this was definitely Chris Keller – a man that never changed. "You sure you don't have me confused with my ex-girlfriend's ass?"

"Oh trust me, I can recognize that ass, too," Chris said with an instigative raise of his brow.

"Don't push my buttons, Keller. Not today," Lucas said as he raised his hands in front of himself and began to back up. "Let me do us both a favor and walk away." The blonde turned around and began to walk, Chris jogging up to him and throwing an arm over his shoulder.

"Man, I'm hungry. Let's go grab a bite to eat," Chris said casually as if what he had just said hadn't even happened. "I'm in the mood for a burrito. And beer. And a stripper."

"If I buy you a burrito will you leave me alone?" Lucas asked.

"Hmmm, no."

"If I lay you out, will you leave me alone?" Lucas asked then as he stopped and balled his hand into a fist.

"Whoa!" Chris stood back and shook his head, "Not this pretty face! Here!" He grabbed a random woman off the street and held her in front of him, "Hit her!"

Lucas's eyes widened and he quickly lowered his formed fist, "I am so sorry, ma'am. He's my mentally handicapped cousin. His nurse lost him." He swatted Chris away from the woman and she walked off completely confused. "Dude, really?"

"You were gonna try to hit me!" Chris exclaimed in his defense as if that was good enough. "But wow dude, if you had hit that girl, that would've been a low."

"I wasn't gonna hit her!"

"Uh huh, sure," Chris said with an amused smirk as he began to walk in sync with Lucas again.

"As fun as this is," Lucas motioned in front of himself before taking out his phone. "I've got work to attend to."

"Alright, alright. I get it. Chris Keller understands when he's not wanted," Chris said as he stepped back.

"…No, I don't think he does," Lucas said slowly with a shake of the head.

Chris watched as Lucas walked down the sidewalk and soon out of sight. Not that Chris ever would admit it, but he actually did pay attention to other people. And it was the Tree Hill gang in particular that always caught his interest. It had been a while since he'd seen them but last time he did, there was something livelier in Lucas Scott. Where had it gone?

**** Chrucas ****

Two weeks had gone by and every day Lucas sat in that café with an empty notepad, wondering where his inspiration had gone and when it'd come back and every day Chris performed in that café, curious about the life of a guy he had secretly envied way back when.

After their first encounter, Lucas realized he wasn't going to be able to threaten Keller off and he was too stubborn to find a new spot.

"So what's up with you and the notepad?" Chris asked as he played around with the top of his coffee cup on the fifteenth day. "You always bring it but you never write on it."

Lucas scratched the back of his head and shrugged, "I don't know. I mean, I do know but…"

Chris scooted closer with his chair and smirked, "If you're trying to write a song, you can always ask the amazing Keller for some advice."

Lucas gave Chris a look and shook his head, "Nah, it's not a song." Chris stared at him expectantly and the blonde shrugged, "I haven't been able to write in so long and I'm just holding onto that hope that it'll all just spring on me one day. I don't expect you to understand."

Chris actually frowned for a moment, his voice showing a rare flash of sincerity, "I do. It's like, you had it at one point and when you did it felt amazing. But it's gone now and you're trying to find it again." The brunette looked down at his hands that were gripping the coffee cup lightly; those hands that he used as his excuse for getting him his fame when he'd admit internally to himself it was all in the heart and soul that got him where he was. "It's okay to be somewhere that isn't home, you know."

Lucas looked at him with shock written all over his face. Chris Keller was the last person he'd have guessed to figure out what was going on in his mind.

"Books are like really long songs. I get it," Chris said as he ran a hand through his messy hair. "Every song is born from an adventure. You have to live to be able to write. You have to wanna explore it all… to not be afraid to search the Earth from top to bottom and find something worth writing about. You want to share a time in your life with someone and tell them about your journey." He sat up a little and motioned towards the outside world beyond the café, "Chris Keller read your book. It was all about Tree Hill. Now it's time to write about a different place with a whole new set of stories to tell."

Chris realized that he was getting really mushy and showing too much of his soft side so he casually leaned back, "Besides, I need something new to read." Lucas looked confused at that and Chris shrugged, voice quiet and embarrassed, "I was jealous of you when I first met you. You're this cool guy that everyone knows and goes to for advice. People listen to what you have to say. Why do you think I stole your girl? I mean, I _am_ hot so it wasn't _that_ hard." He coughed immediately after and looked around casually, the boy not wanting to be held against his confession.

Lucas smiled for a second at that last part but that wasn't what he was interested in reacting to. Stunned at what came out of the musician's mouth, Lucas was actually beginning to understand what Nathan said all those years ago about how Chris Keller did have something in him that wasn't arrogance and ego. "So you're saying I should just get up and leave? It's not that easy, dude."

"Isn't it, though?" Chris asked as he stood up and walked towards the door with the guitar case in his hand. "I'm leaving town tonight on a plane to New York. Chris Keller could use the extra company." He opened the door and looked back once more, "It'll be here when you're ready to come back. It's okay to leave once in a while."

**** Chrucas ****

Chris stared down at his filled suitcases and slowly zipped them up. It was that time again; the time to leave the tiny town behind and move onto a new location. But he smiled softly as he looked around the hotel room he had been staying in.

"Chris Keller will be back," he said aloud as he flipped off the light and exited the room.

Fifteen minutes later he was entering the airport, blue eyes searching around but not knowing what exactly to search for. There was a feeling of disappointment when he hadn't gotten any calls from Lucas.

There was something about Tree Hill that got him attached to the people in it. And as much as he'd like to say he was living the perfect life, truth be told he wasn't. I mean sure, he was living his dreams but he never had a friend of some sort to share it with – not an actual best friend. But with Luke, it was easy to just be himself and take down the cockiness a couple notches though not completely because it was still Chris Keller after all. Chris had so much to say about the meaning of his songs and Lucas was there to listen (even if by force on occasion). No one ever bothered to listen to Chris Keller before.

The intercom announced that they were now boarding his flight and Chris slipped his sunglasses on and hiked up his guitar case.

"Chris, wait up!" a familiar voice sounded, the tall musician turning and spotting Lucas coming forward. He let out a defeated sigh and shrugged, "I thought about what you said. And I figured what the hell?"

That signature smirk slipped over the brunette's face and he spoke with just as much cockiness as usual, "Chris Keller knew you'd come."

**Author's Note: So was it okay you two? I'm sorry it's not nearly as good as the original Chrucas but nothing will EVER be! I hope you enjoyed it (cuz it's your very early Christmas presents)! **

**P.S. A link to a Chrucas art I made a few years back is on my profile!**

**Alyssa**


End file.
